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The Human Body
Objectives
∙ List the functions humans must perform to maintain life.
∙ List survival needs of the human body.
∙ Name the levels of structural organization and explain how they are related.
∙ Define homeostasis and explain its importance.
∙ Contrast negative and positive feedback systems.
∙ Use proper anatomical terminology to describe body directions, surfaces, and body planes
∙ Locate the major body cavities, and list the chief organs in each cavity.
Survival Needs
∙ Nutrients
o Chemicals for energy and cell building
o Includes carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, and minerals
∙ Oxygen
o Required for chemical reactions
∙ Water
o 60–80% of body weight
o Provides for metabolic reaction
∙ Stable body temperature
∙ Atmospheric pressure
o Must be appropriate
Necessary Life Functions
∙ Maintain boundaries
o Inside vs. outside
∙ Movement
o Locomotion
o Movement of substances within body
and tissues
∙ Responsiveness
o Ability to sense changes and react
∙ Digestion
o Break‐down and absorption of
nutrients
∙ Metabolism—chemical reactions within the
body
o Produces energy
o Makes body structures
∙ Excretion
o Eliminates waste from metabolic
reactions
∙ Reproduction
o Produces future generation
∙ Growth
o Increases cell size and number of cells
The Human Body—An Orientation
∙ Anatomy
o Study of the structure and shape of the body and its parts
∙ Physiology
o Study of how the body and its parts work or function
Anatomy—Levels of Study
∙ Gross anatomy
o Large structures
o Easily observable
∙ Microscopic Anatomy
o Very small structures
o Can only be viewed with a microscope
Homeostasis
∙ Homeostasis—maintenance of a stable internal
environment
o A dynamic state of equilibrium
∙ Homeostasis is necessary for normal body functioning and
to sustain life
∙ Homeostatic imbalance
o A disturbance in homeostasis resulting in disease
Maintaining Homeostasis
∙ The body communicates through neural and hormonal control systems
o Receptor
Responds to changes in the environment (stimuli)
Sends information to control center
o Control center
Determines set point
Analyzes information
Determines appropriate response
o Effector
Provides a means for response to the stimulus
The Language of Anatomy
∙ Special terminology is used to prevent misunderstanding
∙ Exact terms are used for
o Position
o Direction
o Regions
o Structures
Regional Terms
Body Planes and Sections
∙ A sagittal section divides the body (or organ) into left and right parts
∙ A median, or midsagittal, section divides the body (or organ) into equal left and right parts
∙ A frontal section divides the body (or organ) into anterior and posterior parts
∙ A transverse, or cross, section divides the body (or organ) into superior and inferior parts
Body Cavities
∙ Dorsal body cavity
o Cranial cavity houses the brain
o Spinal cavity houses the spinal cord
∙ Ventral body cavity
o Thoracic cavity houses heart, lungs and others
o Abdominopelvic cavity houses digestive system and most
urinary system organs